Skip to main content
  1. A year for double-entry bookkeeping

    There’s no denying it: 2022 was a disheartening year for most investors. The US flagship index S&P 500 fell by more than 18%, dividends included. That’s a loss of more than $7 trillion right there.

  2. What’s another month?

    Did it ever strike you that months and years are random periods? Why 30 or 31 days, or 28, when, mathematically, 27 is a much more elegant number (3^3)? And why have years that end on 31 December?

  3. Renewing the ESG vows

    Pareto ESG Global Corporate Bond is the first fixed income fund to be awarded the new license approval for the Nordic Swan Ecolabel 2.0.

  4. Brian’s guide to sustainable investing

    The Monty Python movie Life of Brian has a brilliant scene in which Brian reluctantly addresses a crowd of people believing he is the new Messiah:

  5. Key rates no key to equities

    How do interest rates affect longer-term returns in the stock market? Is it possible that much of the impressive long-run return is a function of falling interest rates?

  6. The bond drama – and a note on risk

    Yes, global stock markets plunged this month. The MSCI World Index lost 8%, the S&P 500 lost 9% – bringing this year’s loss up to almost 24%. But that’s not the most interesting part.

  7. An energy crisis … and then?

    Ok, so Russia shut down the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. I’m not convinced that we should be surprised, not at this point, but that does not lessen the sense of urgency. There has been little time for Europe – and Germany in particular – to secure the necessary energy for the coming winter from alternative sources.

  8. Estival exuberance

    Financial markets are not always intuitive. In July, preliminary figures showed a 0.9% annualised decline in US GDP, following a decline of 1.6% in the first quarter.

  9. Fear and facts

    Much has already been written about the S&P 500 posting its worst first six months in 52 years, falling by a full 20 per cent. Just as much should probably be said about the bond market, as global corporate bonds recorded a loss of 16 per cent – in investment grade!